Injuries sustained by linemen and pole climbers are legendary. Consequently, many devices to prevent falls have been proposed and are in common use by linemen, pole climbers, and others engaged in aerial endeavors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,113, for example, LINEMAN'S SAFETY STRAP ASSEMBLY, issued Aug. 11, 1992 to Michel Lortie teaches a safety strap assembly that incorporates a climber's body belt. The LORTIE strap assembly consists of a pole strap having two ends with a loop extending from a base plate attached to the body belt. The loop may be opened to allow the user to respectively engage and disengage the loop from the utility pole. A brake mechanism is attached to the base plate. The brake mechanism comprises a cam that engages a strap or cross belt of the body belt as it passes over the brake plate. The cam is adjustable by a lever, providing frictional force between the cross belt and the brake plate. The friction applied to the cross belt prevents it from sliding past the brake plate and subsequently tightening the loop.
The LORTIE safety strap assembly and other such devices allow the lineman or pole climber to push the pole strap up or down the pole as he or she ascends or descends the pole. For brevity, the terms he and his as used herein are meant to include the female pronouns, she and hers. In the event the lineman loses his footing on the pole, a tugging force applied by the body belt will release the brake mechanism, thus tightening of the loop of the safety strap, so that the safety strap is tightened about the pole to prevent or limit a fall.
Although the LORTIE safety strap assembly works to prevent a fall in the course of normal operation, it has two major drawbacks. First, the LORTIE safety strap does not allow the lineman to twist his body while he is working. Should the lineman twist his body using this safety strap assembly, the body strap will tug upon the brake mechanism, causing it to release and tighten the loop of the safety strap. The lineman would then have to readjust the safety strap in order to ascend and descend the pole. Therefore, in the normal course of a work shift the lineman would be required to adjust and readjust this safety strap assembly too many times for reasonable comfort and control. More importantly, the LORTIE safety strap assembly does not protect the lineman when he has to maneuver around obstacles.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a strap assembly for linemen that safeguards against injuries and falls.
It would also be advantageous to provide a strap assembly that allows a lineman to twist his body while he is working.
It would further be advantageous to provide a strap assembly that protects a lineman while he maneuvers around obstacles.